Pliers for straightening or pulling fish tape



y 27, 1952 R. v. TAYS v I 2,598,146

PLIERS FOR STRAIGHTENING OR PULLING FISH TAPE Filed April 19, 1950 Patented May 27, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

omens Fort STRAIGHTENING on PULLING FISH. TAPE Richard V. Tays, Coral Gables, Fla.

Application April 19, 1950, Serial No. 156,820

1 Claim. 1

This invention is an improvement over the construction shown and described in my earlier application, Serial No. 185,779 of January 19, 1938, and said application maturing in Patent No. 2,211,528 as of August 13, 1940.

As is well known, electricians have resort to what is known as a fish tape :puller, that is, a tool particularly useful for pulling a steel fish tape with wires attached thereto by means of a hook bent into the end of said fish tape or any other method that is available to attach said wires to fish tape for pulling into an electric conduit or raceway.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of a new and improved tool for pulling or pushing a fish tape through an electric conduit or raceway, and this tool is so constructed that it may be operated selectively with one or two hands as desired and as the occasion may require.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved tool that may be employed for tightly gripping or clamping a fish tape between two coordinating surfaces of the tool for pulling or pushing the fish tape as the occasion may require, and the tool may also be used to straighten out the kinks that develop in the fish tape from continued use, by loosely gripping the fish tape between the two coordinating clamping surfaces used for clamping fish tape with the handles in a parallel position and pulling along fish tape at a slightly oblique angle to it.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved tool that is composed of two moving parts identical in construction whereby only one die is required for forging and one set of jigs is required for machining the said parts, thereby reducing the cost of manufacture materially over the cost of manufacture when the parts are not identical and more than one die for forging and more than one set of jigs for machining are required for their manufacture.

Another advantage of this new and improved tool is that, both sides being identical when the tool is assembled should one side thereafter become damaged in use or by accident the other side is immediately available for use, thus practically doubling the useful life of the tool, thereby resulting in still further economy.

It is also evident that in pushing or feeding the fish tape into the conduit preliminary to attaching the wires for pulling there is danger of injury to the hands or fingers of the user by striking against the end of the conduit or the edges of junction boxes when said fish tape is being fed or pushed into the conduit with the bare hands. as is usual procedure when no tool for that purpose is available, and that by using this invention with the handles in parallel position for clamping the fish tape and thus feeding or pushing the tape this danger is eliminated as the tool will strike the obstruction first, thereby protecting the hands and fingers.

The invention together with its objects and advantages will be best understood from a study of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a pair of one of identical moving parts with means for pivoting a said parts together.

Fig. 2 shows the two moving parts pivoted together and in position for pulling when two hands are used.

Fig. 3 shows the two moving parts pivoted together and in position for pulling when only one hand is employed in pulling the fish tape.

Referring to the numerals in the accompanying drawing, it will be seen that in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the tool comprises a pair of identical handles 5 each having a working end 6 so constructed with means for pivoting l2 that they may be pivoted together to form the complete tool.

Each handle 5 merges into a fiat irregular shaped working end 6 roughly in the shape of a quadrilateral from which extend cams or cam surfaces 1 and B and a lug 9.

The lug 9 is machined on its inner side to an angle of ninety degrees to the flat surface of working end 6 and also at a slight angle outward to the perpendicular axis of the pivot l2, thereby forming an eccentric or clamping seat I l for cam 8 when in position for pulling fish tape l3 when one hand only is employed, as shown by Fig. 3 in the drawing.

The handle 5 is also machined on its inner end to an angle of ninety degrees to the fiat surface of the working end 6 and also at a slight angle outward from the horizontal axis of pivot l2, thereby forming an eccentric or clamping seat In for the cam I when in position for pulling fish tape l3 with two hands, as is shown in Fig. 2- in the drawing.

The seats I6 and l I being machined at a slight angle outward from the axis of pivot l2 allows easy disengagement of the cams on the fish tape when the pressure is released to slide the puller along the fish tape for a new bite. and also allows any wear occurring on the surfaces of cams 1 and 8 to be compensated by bringing said cams I 3 and 8 into closer proximity to the seats l8 and II as they are advanced along the surface of seats H3 and H in gripping the fish tape.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

In a tool of the class described, a pair of identical members each comprising a relatively thick handle having one end portion enlarged radially from a central opening and reduced inwardly from one side to provide a wide flat head of substantially half the thickness of the handle with an outstanding shoulder provided at the juncture of the handle and the head, a projection outstanding normal to the plane of the head at the outer edge of the head approximately 90 degrees from said shoulder providing a second shoulder similar to the first, and a pair of radially outwardly projecting lugs formed on the head, one opposite each of said shoulders, said members being juxtaposed reversely on each other, and a pin penetrating said openings and pivoting the members together, whereby the shoulders of each member provide clearance for the lugs of the other when the handles are swung about said pivot pin and whereby the handles may be disposed selectively at an acute angle or at substantially a straight angle to bring a lug of one member into clamping relation to a shoulder of the other member.

RICHARD V. TAYS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Lubker July 10, 1923 

